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Unpleasant Tasks: Taxes

Filed my taxes online for my Singapore income this afternoon. I took great pains to make sure I keyed in everything correctly. I am in mortal fear that I may have missed this or that little detail which will result in very painful consequences for me. I took a little more time over this to read all the FAQs and guidelines to check that I covered everything. It's all done to the BEST of my ability and understanding of the numerous policies and exemptions and clauses.

Perhaps this endless mountain of rules is their ploy to discourage us from doing anything clever with our tax filing. This is to maximise the total amount of tax due out of our meagre little earnings (poor us!). I'm convinced there's a evil looking line of bureaucrats with beady eyes rubbing their hands together and saying in chorus: "just overwhelm and flood 'em with data!!! That's the way to get 'em!".

Even after I clicked the SUBMIT button. I still had that prickly feeling at the back of my neck that I might have overlooked some minor detail. It didn't help that the process ended with an accusing little pop-up with the disclaimer: "I am aware that there are penalties for furnishing an incorrect tax return. Click OK if you have understood the above declaration". Sigh, doesn't help to ease matters at all.

But now that I've gotten that unpleasant task out of the way. I am free to think about other much nicer things: e.g. what's for lunch?

This past week has been all about snails.The children are always fascinated by the snails in our garden and ask endless questions about them.A couple of weeks back, one of my boys stumbled across a snail crawling along the ground.

And so Nathan’s very first day of kindergarten is over. It was a mixture of good, bad, sweet and sour. I think that so much happens throughout the day, it can be challenging for a little person to filter through it all.

These days my days are packed full to the brim. From the moment I wake up to the sound of Grace calling through the baby monitor and Nathan’s cheeky face peering at me over the edge of the bed… to the evening when I finally tuck them into bed and say goodnight.

Catch up with me on Instagram @livingserenely

This is me...

Hi! My name is Serene. This is my little ‘home’ where I hope friends can stop by to catch up, share thoughts, exchange ideas, where I can share good things I’ve found, and even share some yummy food... read more »